Hiking the Plotter Kill Preserve

There Will Be Mud

Ed — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:17:12 +0000

April 5, 2013: I saw a pair of bluebirds at the Coplon Road trailhead, perched right on the sign. And the trail-clearers have been at work. Thanks! >>

March 30, 2013: The clean-boot season is over. Some trails are spongy leaf duff, some are sidewalks of sheer ice, some are muddy. Microspikes are recommended.
***The creek gets bigger as the snow and ice melts, bigger and noisier. It’s more fun to hike a rim trail if you can hear the little stream roaring below, but the crossings do get harder. The red trail blithely crosses the stream but some days there’s too much water, you just can’t cross. So instead of a loop you may end up with an out-and-back. Today I was able to get across the landslide crossing by tightrope-walking a narrow log.
***The falls are pretty satisfying. The upper falls is thundering away with boxcar-sized blocks of ice breaking up below. Keep the kids back from the edge.
***The picture is of the top of the Rynex falls. Even crossing the little Rynex had to be carefully done, avoiding the dreaded wetfoot. —Ed

Fairy Staircase Falls… The Snow Filter

Ed — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:09:48 +0000

3-24-2013: The preserve is still completely snow covered, still fun and challenging on snowshoes. This is Fairy Staircase Falls under ice. You can go up the Rynex to see the little falls, then go left up the hill perpendicular to the stream and hit the yellow Highland Trail, go right and follow it around and down to the red trail, go left to the footbridge.
3-8-2013: Reality’s user interface has a global effect called snow that completely transforms the visuals.

I headed for the woods, lucky to be there while the effect was still playing.
—Ed

The Ice Wall

Ed — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:07:16 +0000

February 23: That’s me at the bottom of the upper falls, photo by Scott Meyer. Most trails are still snow covered, but not by much. Still glad to have snowshoes for surefootedness, and for keeping safe on the frozen stream. —Ed

Pink Polkadot Bowties

Ed — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:16:50 +0000

1-11-2013: I’m a leave-no-trace kind of guy, but I think the bowties are pretty delightful. There are about 25 or so, low impact (thumbtack attachment) where the trail from Mariaville road turns and goes down to the footbridge.
***The preserve got 6 inches of snow last weekend so snowshoes start to make sense, and it’s been very cold so the creek is frozen and that opens up things. I took the spur from the red trail to the top of the lower falls and then walked up the creek to the bottom of the upper falls which is a giant wall of ice. Attention ice climbers, it’s a pretty good site.

Snowshoe advantages

Ed — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:06:35 +0000

1-19-2013: It snowed again last week but not very much. Today I used snowshoes even though there wasn’t really enough snow to warrant. The snowshoes (Atlas) give you a good flat platform, you can confidently take a step without worrying if you’re going to turn an ankle by stepping wrong on a snow covered root. You can walk right along instead of picking your way. Some snowshoes with a big toe claw wouldn’t be as good as the Atlas brand in this situation.
***The snowshoes also helped when I got to the Landslide crossing. There’s a lot of water in the Plotter Kill at the moment and it isn’t easy to cross. The shoes helped me bridge some ice chunks. Hiked the waterfall loop backwards, starting with the blue trail from the Mariaville Road trailhead. The preserve is pretty wonderful at the moment, snow-covered with the stream lively and half iced.
***I’ve put up some printable trail maps at Kevin Cataldo’s suggestion. Two-page letter size and tabloid. —Ed

What about those signs?

Ed — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 18:11:56 +0000

December 16, 2012: The falls are starting to ice up nicely. Click the thumbnail for a view of the Upper Falls from the blue trail, south rim.
***A while back Brent Pierce posted, “I have recently noticed there are numbered signs throughout the park. Any idea as to what they are about? Thanks!” …I don’t know what they’re there for. If someone does, please leave a comment here and let us know? Just curious. thanks, —Ed

Happy New Month

Ed — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:31:11 +0000

November 1, 2012:

That Wierd Place on the Orange Trail Where All the Trees Grow at an Angle

Ed — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:58:55 +0000

October 5, 2012: There it is, can’t explain it. The trees just grow that way.
It’s a beautiful time to hike. The rains have perked the falls up and the colors are changing. —Ed

You can have an epiphany on the red trail

Ed — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:26:47 +0000

August 15, 2012: I didn’t have an epiphany but I was there for the light show. I’ve been hiking – the waterfall loop, down to Sergeant’s Falls, to the “Ems.” Here’s a little loop that I like that goes up the Rynex gorge, checks out Fairy Staircase Falls, then up the hill to the yellow Highland trail and back around. (as shown on the route map, 1.75 miles, a little over an hour)
*** There has been some rain but it’s mostly soaking in, not going over the falls. What else… I forgot my boots the other day and found that you can tramp the waterfall loop just fine in crocs.
*** I’ve recently come upon an article from 2008 in the Schenectady Gazette that has some insights into the preserve. Written by Bill Buell, it has quotes and stories from Almy Coggeshall, history of the preserve development, etc. A great find, thanks to the Gazette for making it available. —Ed

Water Striders

Ed — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:15:54 +0000